Siemens Mobility has handed over the first D9 electric freight locomotives to Indian Railways under its €3 billion contract for 1,200 units.
India’s freight rail modernisation is moving from production into operation, as the first Siemens-built D9 electric locomotives enter commercial service under a long-term manufacturing and maintenance programme.
The order, awarded in January 2023, is the largest locomotive contract in Siemens Mobility’s history and the largest order ever received by Siemens India.
Together with the handover, Siemens and Indian Railways also opened the fleet’s first maintenance depot in Visakhapatnam. It will form part of a four-depot network, alongside future locations in Raipur, Kharagpur and Pune.
The D9 locomotives are designed for heavy freight operation across the Indian network at speeds of up to 120 km/h. With 9,000 hp, they are described by Siemens as India’s most powerful six-axle electric freight locomotives.
In normal operation, the locomotives are intended to haul loads of up to 5,800 tonnes on defined gradients, with an axle load of 22.5 tonnes.
The project is structured as a long-term lifecycle partnership, covering design, manufacturing, commissioning and 35 years of full-service maintenance. Siemens will provide spare parts management, maintenance planning, documentation and reporting for the fleet.
Digital systems will also play a role. The locomotives will use Railigent X for condition monitoring, predictive maintenance and performance optimisation, with the aim of maximising fleet availability over the long term.
The handover has wider strategic importance for India’s freight sector. The government wants to raise rail’s share of freight transport from around 27% today to 40–45%, while the country already operates one of the world’s largest and most electrified railway networks.
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